With all the child poverty we hear about, I find this Chelsea Flower Show garden, with child's house, rather worrying.
With 4 Million children 'apparently' living in abject poverty, how on earth could they afford this charming wee 'Wendy House'.
For just £30,000 this playhouse could belong to little Piers or Penelope. It is loosely based on a weekend holiday house one might own in Hampshire. It has a roof made from 300 year old reclaimed tiles (very eco), a mini-Aga inside, floral wallpaper, brass fittings on the doors, a mini Fortnum's hamper, and lead-lighted windows. All perfectly normal; I hear you say.
Well yes, but had it been priced at a more realistic £28,500, we would now be seeing them popping up in gardens from Glasgow to Glastonbury, but they are overpriced; and unless the little dears go without their gold-leafed designer trainers or ski trips to Klosters, they'll have to wait another month (or even more) in order to afford one! I know; that might be asking too much.
In these difficult times of 'Austerity', maybe a government grant could be offered to those families who cannot quite afford this simple garden addition for their offspring. In today's world; every child should have one (the Beehive is extra).
In comparison, this small house (above) can be yours for £12,500. It's in Peterlee, Co Durham.
It is called the two faces of Britain and I suspect one day this keg of gunpowder will explode. A cheap house up North tells you that there are no jobs. Ask why does HS2 start from London? Why cannot the money be used up North to improve the transport there.
ReplyDeleteThen look at both sides of our government and weep with frustration.......
HS2 should be scrapped, there are much more worthy projects that would benefit everyone; not just a few executives who wish to save 10 minutes train time.
DeleteIt isn't about saving train time it's about brown envelopes. How else could folk justify spending this sort of money on a childs toy or in Cameron's case a garden shed on wheels.
DeleteI have absolutely nothing against people earning large sums of money (if they've worked hard for it), but it's surprising how many of them end-up in court.
DeleteNor I; but I see little evidence that the state employees earn their money honestly.
DeleteHS2 - complete waste of a huge sum of money! Noone up here in the North wants or needs it - apart from John Bishop - the pretend objector.
ReplyDeleteI haven't followed the full ins and outs of the project, but it does seem to be inconveniencing a lot of people, costing far too much money, and all for very little gain.
DeleteChild poverty seems to mean not having the latest top-of-the-range mobile telephone?
ReplyDeleteOr one of these Chelsea cottages.
DeleteHS2 is a waste of money - except for one thing - it's going to keep lots of archaeologists in the area in work for a while! which means my son the archaeologist should still keep his Suffolk job for a bit longer. ( silver linings)
ReplyDeleteMaybe he'll find something of National Importance, and the whole project will (sadly) be halted.
DeleteThis is pocket money to some people. I watched a programme about the super rich where parents gave their child a rehearsal birthday party to make sure the real one when off without a hitch. It's another world.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind people having lots of money, but I hate to see it wasted on stupidity.
DeleteI agree with Thelma, above. As the yawning divide becomes ever more *in your face* to those who have very little, we can expect to see more unrest and blood spilled.
ReplyDeleteI hope not the blood. If Corbyn gets anywhere near No 10, expect that divide to become even greater.
DeleteThe use of food-banks by ordinary working people with children has increased enormously in the last couple of years. By ordinary working people I mean ordinary people in work. The Chelsea Flower Show is just a fantasy show-case which can make the careers of garden designers over night. It's fun. I like it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm hoping to see Katy Cambridge doing well. Chelsea used to be about plants and plantsmen; it's now about excess.
DeleteThe Chelsea Flower Show is indeed fun as Tom says, and one can get inspiration from it.
ReplyDeleteHowever your comment about child poverty is relevant. The yawning divide between the low paid and high paid earners is increasing...let alone those without work.
I love the Chelsea show, but very rarely learn anything from it these days. It used to be much more a show for ordinary folk.
DeleteIt is still about many ordinary nurseries working hard to win gold, and it matters a lot to them.
ReplyDeleteYes the specialists are still there, but the 'media' concentrate on Kate Cambridge and her knotted swing etc.
DeleteRachel is right ..... it’s not only about the show gardens but the many small nurseries .... there was a lady on last night who won gold with her alliums that she grows on her allotment and her spare room is full of dried alliums that she dresses her stand with ! .... and a lady who won gold with her hostas that she grows in her modest nursery. I think that Chelsea Flower Show consists of people across the board as well as the people who visit. Anything that attracts so much attention will inevitably attract excess . XXXX
ReplyDeleteDon't worry I'm only poking a bit of fun at the tiny cottage.
DeleteI am pleased your political views are quite confusing. Shall I cast you as down to earth no nonsense.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm more of a 'live and let live' person; more common sense than no nonsense.
DeleteCrikey, and to think my "den" was my dad's old army blanket thrown over an old table to make a "tent". I played for hours in that thing (but then that's a council estate in Birmingham for you). But would I swap it for Hermione or Hortense's life? Never in a million years, and I've seen loads of money thrown around in my 35 years working in Geneva. Sadly, rich kids really don't appreciate these things for the most part! I think Billy Connelly got it right when he HATED moving out of his Scottish slum because that's where all his mates were, and once they were moved into the "posh" places they were all dispersed!
ReplyDeleteOne of my best dens was in the wood shed. Made of cut logs in amongst all the Rats. I loved it, and I used the place to blacken toast over a candle.
DeleteWhen I was a child, my playhouse was a big sheet over a table or a big box. I had great fun.
ReplyDeleteThe big cardboard box was the best.
DeleteFood for thought.
ReplyDeleteYes, I wasn't really trying to make a point, but just found the comparison between the two 'properties' interesting.
DeleteThe comparison between the two 'properties' is glaringly in the face of how some people must actually Live and others can have obscene luxury to just Play.
ReplyDeleteI find it amusing when folk speak of food banks as though it a solely British phenomenon. FEBA, the European food bank agency fed the equivalent of over 4 million people last year in Europe.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.eurofoodbank.org/